OAKLAND — Call this ugly game the one that almost got away.
After cruising to an 11-2 lead through six innings Saturday night, the Rockies watched their seldom-used relievers — namely Alan Embree and Juan Rincon — collapse. It wasn’t until closer Huston Street came on the squash the Oakland A’s rally that Rockies breathed a gigantic sigh and exited with a strange 11-9 victory.
Street notched his 18th save in 19 tries.
That Street would even have to throw a pitch seemed an absurd notion two-thirds of the way through the game. For the balance of the evening, the Rockies were in total control. They got a splendid a splendid performance from mercurial starter Jorge De La Rosa, and were fueled by an offense that cranked out 16 hits.
Colorado belted a season-high four home runs, including the 100th of Brad Hawpe’s career.
But Embree, called on to cap off what De La Rosa started, failed to put the game away. In one-third inning, he gave up two runs on three hits before Tracy gave him the hook and inserted Juan Rincon. Rincon got the Rockies out of the eighth, but imploded in the ninth, getting charged with four runs (three earned).
De La Rosa pitched six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He improved to 4-7, earning his fourth win in his last five starts. The Rockies, 21-7 under Tracy, have won 19 of their past 22 games.
Nothing symbolized the Rockies’ early good fortune more than the play that ended the sixth inning. Former Rockies all-star Matt Holliday, attempting to score from second on a single by Orlando Cabrera, was thrown out at the plate by center fielder Carlos Gonzalez, one of the key pieces of the trade the sent Holliday to Oakland last November.
Holliday was victimized again in the seventh, this time by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, one of Holliday’s best friends on the Rockies. Tulowitzki went deep into the hole, spun and threw a one-hopper to first baseman Todd Helton, barely nipping Holliday.
Brad Hawpe’s two-run home run in the first inning, the 100th of his career, started the Rockies’ avalanche. The 100th homer was classic Hawpe. His swing, so free and easy, yet so powerful, sent the ball into orbit. It landed in the right-field seats, just missing the second deck.
Ian Stewart led off the second with a smash to right, his team-leading 14th homer. Clint Barmes added a solo shot in the third and Seth Smith smacked another solo homer in the fourth.
The A’s, losers of four straight and 12 of their last 17, deserved Fs for their performance – and their booing fans let them know it. The symbol of their frustration was Todd Helton strolling home on a wild pitch by Oakland starter Trevor Cahill in the third. That act was repeated in the sixth when Seth Smith cruised home on a wild pitch by reliever Edgar Gonzalez.
The Rockies, with opening day starter Aaron Cook on the mound, go after their fifth series sweep in the Tracy era this afternoon.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
